Police arrest two Maoist shooters in Jharkhand

Acting on tip-off, police in Jharkhand state arrest two Maoist shooters with arms and ammunitions in Lohardaga district over the weekend.

Talking to the reporters, Superintendent of Police, Lohardaga, Jitendra Kumar Singh, informed that shooters were involved in cases of kidnapping, extortion and looting.

"Two shooters named Pintu Rao and Ritesh Rao have been arrested. Two pistols, three cartridges, looted motorcycles and four mobile phones have been seized from their possession during the raid. They were arrested when they were planning to loot another motorcyclist. They were working for the Maoist group called 'Indian Tiger Army'," said Singh.

Singh added that there are 80 members in their group and operate in Ranchi, Gumla, Lohardaga, Simdega and Latehar.

Recently, Maoists have been trying to strengthen their base by rounding up school children and confiscating their educational certificates and compelling them to join the group.

In the last few years, the rebels have stepped up their efforts against the government as well as the locals, after various locals complained that Maoist activities such as killings and abductions increased considerably in the area.

The guerrilla war, waged mostly from the forests of central and eastern India now poses the biggest internal security challenge, say analysts.

Hundreds of people have been killed and injured in the violence, perpetrated by the rebels as well as security forces in counter insurgency operations.

Maoists have also significantly increased their presence in tribal and rural regions in the states of Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Orissa.

Also known as Naxals, the rebels have fought for decades in a wide swathe of central and eastern India, including many resource-rich regions, where tensions run high between poor farmers and industrial developers.

The Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of millions of landless people.

The government calls them India's main internal security threat and an obstacle to higher growth and more jobs in Asia's third-largest economy. Hundreds die annually in the conflict, although levels of violence have fallen in recent years. (ANI)